Week 4 in Africa

Me & my xmas present

Our Christmas tree

My Christmas decorations in my room

Making dinner at the house on Tabaski

Drying our mosquito nets


View of ocean from PC

Independance Hall

After almost a month in country I feel I can give everyone a fairly accurate snapshot of my life here. I now have a big Guinean family: father, mother, 3 sisters, 2 brothers and an adorable grandmother. On the norm there is just a house full of teenagers. My family is loud, always trying to feed me, make me eat more, make me eat faster, and quick to laugh when I say or do something they find weird (which happens often). They are also very caring, eager to learn about life in America, helpful to the point I can't do anything, and willing to teach me how to live like a Guinean and include me in their activities. I find it so crazy to be a part of this family. Even though I have fairly decent french skills I have trouble communicating with them due to differences in dialect and vocab which I think frustrates them as much as it does me because it takes 10 minutes to relay info because we constantly have to repeat what the other person says to make sure we understand one another and even then it doesn't always translate but its getting easier. We live in a fairly big house but spend most of our time sitting outside in a thatch hut that serves as a kitchen/living room. Except on nights when we have electricity, then everyone gathers round the tv and watches music videos, mainly of Akon or other American rappers, and my siblings ask me to translate. For the most part I refuse to give them the direct translation I just say they are talking about relations between men and women, however my 16 year old sister likes to walk around singing very suggestive song lyrics so I have told her what she was singing and why it wasn't a good thing to sing in public. They all have big aspirations for their futures and I really hope they are given the opportunities to pursue them.

My day typically starts around 6:30-7 am. After a quick bucket bath and breakfast I'm out the door and headed to class. Our trainers try to get us out in the community as much as possible to ease us into the work we will be doing at site. Right now 2 of my fellow health education volunteers and I are visiting a malnourished child everyday trying to ensure he gets proper nutrients and hopefully gain weight. Language is the most challenging part and I am anxious to start learning my local language because I'll mainly be dealing with women in rural areas who don't speak french. We find out our sites soon so hopefully by next week I can start learning a local language.

The children are another big adjustment. They are everywhere and they are constantly yelling Foutay (white/wealthy person) at us. Each petit has to ask us how we are doing and they all expect a response. It doesn't matter if their friend standing next to them just asked us ca va, they want to ask too and they want you to talk again. They also want to know our names and if they remember which they almost always do they don't hesitate to start screaming out your name the next time they see you. Its kinda like being a rock star.

I get my drinking water from a pump, its about a quarter mile from my place. I tried to carry my water back on my head but I was not steady enough. I have no idea how these women can march around over uneven terrain with 20+ pounds on their head and not drop a thing. I guess I'll have to start with a water bottle and work up to it. My bath water comes from a well out in front of our house and that I can get and carry back home on my own. (However, if I don't drop the bucket down at just the right angle one of the petits is quick to take the rope from me and fix it everytime. It sucks because they won't let me just get my water.) I also wash my clothes on a washboard - don't know how my grandmothers did it.

Of course the big news here is that the President Lansana Conte passed away just before Christmas and the military took over. Everything transitioned smoothly and hopefully will remain calm.

On a completely unrelated note I would like to throw out a small, teeny tiny, list of things that I really miss and would love to eat again sometime in the near future (sorry rice and fish doesn't get it done and the ice cream here has nothing on Youngs Dairy):

Jelly beans

Starburst

Oreos

peanut m&ms

M&Ms

Thanks!

Miss you all!